Occasionally, drivers negligently leave valuables in their vehicles. Perishable foods may create a mess or odor, which can often be remediated. However, when the valuable is a pet or child, the consequences may be tragic. For mothers and fathers who have unintentionally left their child in a car, the aftermath couldn't be much worse. First and foremost, their child may have died. Second, they caused it. And third, the tragedy was completely preventable.
Various systems have been devised to alert drivers to pets and children left in a vehicle. Many of these systems require complex sensors and/or switches and logic to detect the presence of a child. For example, a system may include a switch or sensor (e.g., weight sensor) on a seat or a seat belt. When the seat is occupied or the seat belt is fastened, the system concludes that a child has been placed in the seat. A predetermined time after the vehicle has been turned off and/or the driver's door has been open and closed, the system may determine that the child has been left behind. Some systems attempt to determine distance between the driver and the child seat using an RF signal. For example, a fob possessed by the driver may periodically emit a wireless signal of limited range. A receiver at the child seat may expect to receive the wireless signal. If the signal is not received when scheduled to be received, one or more times, the system determines that a child has been left behind. In such case an alarm is emitted. The alarm may be a text (SMS) message communicated to a phone via cellular network communication, an audible alarm, or a flashing light.
A problem with such systems is unreliability. Neither commercially available vehicles nor commercially available baby seats are equipped with such systems. The paltry few commercially available aftermarket baby alarm systems are generally considered unreliable, emitting frequent false alarms and/or failing to emit an alarm when appropriate. As a result, today, parents and caregivers do not equip their vehicles with alarm systems that detect an unattended baby left behind. Vehicle and baby seat manufacturers are unwilling to incorporate an unreliable system into their products, for obvious reasons, not the least of which are liability exposure and loss of goodwill.
The invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems and solving one or more of the needs as set forth above.